By Blessings Makuta

Blantyre Water Board (BWB) has fined Portland Cement Company K188 million after uncovering three illegal water connections at the company’s premises.

In a statement, BWB said its technical team discovered the unauthorized connections on Thursday during an inspection at the company’s site in Makata, Ndirande Township.

Further investigations revealed that the company had bypassed official procedures and was drawing large volumes of treated water directly from the Board’s distribution system.

BWB described the incident as a serious case of water theft and an act of sabotage against public service delivery.

“Illegal connections cause significant financial losses to the Board and disrupt water supply services to customers who are legally connected,” the Board said.